Dec. 08--APTOS -- The body of a man was found in the aftermath of a fire that destroyed a three-story home on the 9700 block of Monroe Avenue on Saturday morning, officials with Aptos/La Selva Fire said.
About 12:20 a.m., firefighters received a report of a home engulfed in flames, said Jeff Terpstra, fire chief for Aptos/La Selva Fire.
Initially, four engines were called to the scene but the fire was quickly upgraded to a second alarm and four additional engines were called to the scene, Terpstra said.
"This thing had a real head start before it was detected and 911 was called," he said.
Engines from Central Fire, Watsonville Fire, Cal Fire were on scene to assist as well as the Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies.
Firefighters would normally attack the fire from within the home but because of the intensity of the fire, they were only able to douse the flames from the outside, Terpstra said. Firefighters battled the fire from two sides -- Monroe Avenue -- north of the home and Jaunell Avenue to the south.
It was contained within 30 minutes of firefighters arriving, Terpstra said.
Of the three residents in the home, two were found standing outside of the home and were unharmed, he said. A neighbor who was a firefighter in Palo Alto rescued a bird and dog that were in the home. The body of a man was found on the third floor of the home and is believed to be the third resident.
"We suspect it to be the owner but that has not been confirmed," Terpstra said.
A neighbor across from the destroyed home said she was up around midnight -- 20 minutes before the initial call was made -- and did not see the fire, Terpstra said.
"That's quite a bit of fire build up in a short period of time," he said.
"We are concerned about the rapid buildup of fire, but we don't have any indication that it's suspicious at this point in time," he said. "It's still being investigated and we'll work with the coroner's office to find out the cause of death."
Though investigators said they believe the fire started in the kitchen on the top floor of the home, there will be difficulty in investigating the home because the home's structure was so badly damaged, Terpstra said.
While adjacent homes were in danger, firefighters were able to contain the fire to the one house, Terpstra said. The cold temperatures and rain helped in keeping the fire at bay.
"Had that happened on a summer day it would have been a different fire," Terpstra said.
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